Site Mobile Navigation

Theater Listings for Oct. 16-22

A scene from "Colin Quinn: The New York Story."Credit
Ian Douglas for The New York Times

Approximate running times are in parentheses. Theaters are in Manhattan unless otherwise noted. Full reviews of current productions, additional listings, showtimes and ticket information are at nytimes.com/theater. A searchable, critical guide to theater is at nytimes.com/events.

Previews and Openings

‘Allegiance’ (in previews; opens on Nov. 8) There’s no historical injustice so great that it can’t be expressed in song and dance. This new musical explores the internment of Japanese-American citizens during World War II. Inspired in part by the childhood of the actor George Takei, “Allegiance” features music and lyrics by Jay Kuo and a book by Mr. Kuo, Marc Acito and Lorenzo Thione. Mr. Takei, Lea Salonga and Telly Leung star. Longacre Theater, 220 West 48th Street, 212-239-6200, allegiancemusical.com. (Alexis Soloski)

‘Before Your Very Eyes’ (previews start on Saturday; opens on Oct. 26) If you saw “Gob Squad’s Kitchen” or “Super Night Shot,” then you know the members of the English-German collective Gob Squad and its civilian volunteers — but they won’t be appearing in this new work. Instead, the audience will face a roomful of seven children, isolated via a one-way mirror, who perform rituals of growth and aging as we grown-ups look on. Public Theater, 425 Lafayette Street, East Village, 212-967-7555, publictheater.org. (Soloski)

‘China Doll’ (previews start on Wednesday; opens on Nov. 19) Some dolls talk. David Mamet doesn’t. After the early closure of “The Anarchist” and a couple of modest revivals, Mr. Mamet has returned to Broadway with a new play, starring Al Pacino and Christopher Denham, directed by Pam MacKinnon. Mr. Pacino reportedly plays a lion of some industry or other, now on the verge of retirement, but few other details have emerged. Gerald Schoenfeld Theater, 236 West 45th Street, 212-239-6200, chinadollbroadway.com. (Soloski)

‘Dames at Sea’ (in previews; opens on Thursday) Broadway, ahoy! Nearly 50 years after it docked at Caffe Cino, this parody of 1930s movie musicals and the sailors and chorus girls who populated them is dropping anchor on Broadway. The director and choreographer Randy Skinner captains a cast that includes John Bolton, Mara Davi and Lesli Margherita. Helen Hayes Theater, 240 West 44th Street, 212-239-6200, damesatseabroadway.com. (Soloski)

‘Empanada Loca’ (in previews; opens on Wednesday) If you plan to enjoy a delicious meat-stuffed pastry, make sure you know what is in the filling. That’s doubtless one of the lessons of Aaron Mark’s new play, loosely inspired by the legend of Sweeney Todd and starring Daphne Rubin-Vega. The Labyrinth Theater Company serves it piping hot. Bank Street Theater, 155 Bank Street, West Village, 212-513-1080, labtheater.org. (Soloski)

‘First Daughter Suite’ (in previews; opens on Wednesday) Growing up in the White House is apparently no bed of roses, despite the lovely blooms of the Rose Garden. Michael John LaChiusa’s new musical, a companion piece to his “First Lady Suite,” conjures the offspring of past presidents and the mothers who bore them. Kirsten Sanderson directs. Public Theater, 425 Lafayette Street at Astor Place, East Village, 212-967-7555, publictheater.org. (Soloski)

‘Futurity’ (in previews; opens on Tuesday) Some very personal computing is afoot when the composer César Alvarez and his band the Lisps offer a new musical inspired by Mr. Alvarez’s boyhood obsessions. Fact, fantasy and science fiction mingle in this script, which unites an imagined Civil War soldier with the real-life artificial intelligence pioneer Ada Lovelace. Sarah Benson, whose intelligence is all-natural, directs. Connelly Theater, 220 East Fourth Street, East Village, 866-811-4111, sohorep.org, arsnovanyc.com. (Soloski)

‘Hir’ (previews start on Friday; opens on Nov. 8) The playwright and performer Taylor Mac dreams big — five-hour plays, epic narratives, outsized costumes, blinding eye shadow. Almost everything he does is surprising, so while you might not have expected him to write a realistic family drama, expect a happy shock or two in this story of a wife and mother’s late-found empowerment. Kristine Nielsen stars and Niegel Smith directs. Playwrights Horizons, 416 West 42nd Street, 212-279-4200, playwrightshorizons.org. (Soloski)

‘Houseworld’ (in previews; opens on Sunday) Recent local immersive theater experiences have taken us to Scotland, to Wonderland, to hell. The latest attempts goes inside our very own minds. Created by Andrew Hoepfner and Mike Campbell and performed by a cast of 20, it helps audience members to “explore different facets of the human psyche” in a former rectory in Brooklyn. San Damiano Mission, 85 North 15th Street, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, houseworld.nyc. (Soloski)

‘The Humans’ (in previews; opens on Oct. 25) The Blake clan has much to be thankful for, not least that the talented playwright Stephen Karam is scripting its Thanksgiving dinner. In this Roundabout Theater show, the family has gathered at the youngest daughter’s new apartment for turkey and revelation. Joe Mantello directs the holiday sorrow and cheer, with a cast including Reed Birney and Jayne Houdyshell. Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theater, 111 West 46th Street, 212-719-1300, roundabouttheatre.org. (Soloski)

‘Kill Floor’ (in previews; opens on Monday) The offal truth: In this new play from Abe Koogler, a woman (Marin Ireland) who has just been paroled takes a job at the local slaughterhouse — something of a problem since her estranged son is a vegetarian. The rising star Lila Neugebauer directs this omnivorous drama for LCT3. Claire Tow Theater, Lincoln Center, 212-239-6200, lct.org. (Soloski)

‘King Charles III’ (in previews; opens on Nov. 1) Queen Elizabeth II seems in robust health, but Mike Bartlett’s speculative history play, a great success in London last year, imagines Britain after her death. Tim Pigott-Smith stars as Charles, the long-aborning heir who — with assists from Camilla, Will and Kate — makes political life in England distinctly less merry. Rupert Goold directs the investiture. Music Box Theater, 239 West 45th Street, kingcharlesiiibroadway.com, 212-239-6200. (Soloski)

‘Lost Girls’ (previews start on Wednesday; opens on Nov. 9) John Pollono revved his playwriting motor a couple of years ago with the small-town thriller “Small Engine Repair.” He has now reunited with MCC Theater and the director Jo Bonney for this play, set in a similar locale. An anxious mother (Piper Perabo) reunites with her ex when their teenage daughter goes missing in the wilds of New Hampshire. Lucille Lortel Theater, 121 Christopher Street, West Village, 866-811-4111, mcctheater.org. (Soloski)

‘Misery’ (previews start on Thursday; opens on Nov. 15) Unwanted admiration is a familiar hassle of celebrity life, but few fans come quite so psychotic as Annie Wilkes, the villain of Stephen King’s psychological chiller. In William Goldman’s adaptation (he also wrote the film version), Bruce Willis plays a romance writer menaced and imprisoned by this fanatical devotee (Laurie Metcalf). Will Frears directs the unusual writer’s retreat. Broadhurst Theater, 235 West 44th Street, 212-239-6200, miserybroadway.com. (Soloski)

‘On Your Feet!’ (in previews; opens on Nov. 5) A jukebox musical with a Latin beat, this new tuner tells the life story of Gloria and Emilio Estefan using their own songs. Ana Villafañe and Josh Segarra star, Jerry Mitchell directs, Alexander Dinelaris supplies the book. If reports from the out-of-town tryout are true, the rhythm is definitely gonna get you. Marquis Theater, 1535 Broadway, at 45th Street, Manhattan, 212-382-0100, onyourfeetmusical.com. (Soloski)

‘Ripcord’ (in previews, opens on Tuesday) The playwright David Lindsay-Abaire occasionally flies without a parachute, artistically speaking. So let us hope he lands gently in this Manhattan Theater Club show, directed by David Hyde Pierce. Marylouise Burke and Holland Taylor star as querulous roommates at an assisted living facility. Rachel Dratch and Glenn Fitzgerald also appear. City Center Stage I, 131 West 55th Street, 212-581-1212, nycitycenter.org. (Soloski)

‘Songbird’ (previews start on Tuesday; opens on Oct. 28) A Russian comedy-drama set to a country-and-western tune, this musical updates Anton Chekhov’s “The Seagull” and sends it winging toward the American South. In place of a famous actress, we have a faded country star, newly returned to her Nashville family. Michael Kimmel wrote the book, Lauren Pritchard the honky tonk songs and ballads. 59E59 Theaters, 59 East 59th Street, 212-279-4200, 59e59.org. (Soloski)

‘Sylvia’ (in previews; opens on Oct. 27) If Annaleigh Ashford succeeds in her first starring turn on Broadway, give that woman a biscuit and a pat on the head. Ms. Ashford, who has won a Tony Award for supporting work, will play an adorable mutt in this revival of A. R. Gurney’s comedy, directed by Daniel Sullivan, about marriage and dogs. Matthew Broderick, Julie White and Robert Sella are along for the walk. Cort Theater, 138 West 48th Street, 212-239-6200, sylviabroadway.com. (Soloski)

‘Thérèse Raquin’ (in previews; opens on Oct. 29) A success and a scandal in both its novel and theatrical forms, Émile Zola’s naturalistic tale of adulterous lovers now arrives in the British playwright Helen Edmundson’s new adaptation, presented by the Roundabout Theater Company and directed by Evan Cabnet. Keira Knightley stars as the passionate orphan who takes an unusual approach to marital dissatisfaction. Gabriel Ebert is her husband; Matt Ryan, her co-conspirator; Judith Light, her mother-in-law. Studio 54, 254 West 54th Street, 212-719-1300, roundabouttheatre.org. (Soloski)

‘A View From the Bridge’ (previews start on Wednesday; opens on Nov. 12) The characters of Arthur Miller’s 1955 tragedy are, in the words of a character, “quite civilized, quite American. Now we settle for half.” The director Ivo van Hove has never been the sort to settle. His non-naturalistic production of the play, which arrives in New York after an acclaimed run on the West End in London, stars Mark Strong. Lyceum Theater, 149 West 45th Street, 212-239-6200, lct.org. (Soloski)

Broadway

‘Amazing Grace’ The unusual life story of John Newton (a jaunty Josh Young), the Englishman who wrote the lyrics to the titular hymn — he matured from slave trader and scapegrace to fervently religious clergyman — is explored in this earnest but somewhat overstuffed musical with music and lyrics by Christopher Smith and book by Mr. Smith and Arthur Giron (2:30). Nederlander Theater, 208 West 41st Street, 877-250-2929, amazinggracemusical.com. (Charles Isherwood)

★ ‘An American in Paris’ The ballet luminary Christopher Wheeldon makes a triumphant debut as a Broadway director with this rhapsodic stage adaptation of a classic musical with a heavenly Gershwin score. The ballet dancers Robert Fairchild and Leanne Cope, as the semi-star-crossed lovers, are radiant, and Max von Essen sings like a dream as an heir who aspires to a nightclub career. Pure joy (2:30). The Palace Theater. 1564 Broadway, at 47th Street, 877-250-2929, ticketmaster.com. (Isherwood)

‘Finding Neverland’ This musical adaptation of the 2004 biopic about J. M. Barrie, the creator of “Peter Pan,” heightens the film’s tidy psychologizing and life-affirming messages by thickening their syrup and corn quotients. The show brings to mind those supersize sodas sold in movie theaters. It’s mostly empty calories. Diane Paulus directs a cast led by Matthew Morrison (2:30). Lunt-Fontanne Theater, 205 West 46th Street, 877-250-2929, ticketmaster.com. (Ben Brantley)

★ ‘Fool for Love’ Love as a battlefield on which nobody wins has seldom been mapped as thrillingly as it is in Daniel Aukin’s definitive revival of Sam Shepard’s bruising 1983 drama. Playing May and Eddie, a couple locked in an eternal apache dance, Nina Arianda and Sam Rockwell exude the sort of chemistry of which nuclear meltdowns are made (1:15). Samuel J. Friedman Theater, 261 West 47th Street, 212-239-6200, foolforlovebroadway.com. (Brantley)

★ ‘Fun Home’ This extraordinary musical memory play about a girl and her father, adapted by Jeanine Tesori (music) and Lisa Kron (book and lyrics) from Alison Bechdel’s graphic novel, occupies that mysterious place where we all grew up — the shifting landscape governed by those contradictory creatures, our parents. Sam Gold directs a nigh-flawless cast in a show that brings fresh oxygen to Broadway (1:40). Circle in the Square Theater, 1633 Broadway, at 50th Street, funhomebroadway.com, 212-239-6200. (Brantley)

★ ‘Hamilton’ Yes, it really is that good. Lin-Manuel Miranda’s rap-driven portrait of the rise and fall of Alexander Hamilton, directed by Thomas Kail, makes us feel the unstoppable, urgent rhythm of a nation being born. A show that changes the language of the American musical, while offering resounding evidence that this beleaguered genre is not only surviving but thriving (2:45). Richard Rodgers Theater, 226 West 46th Street, 877-250-2929, hamiltonbroadway.com. (Brantley)

★ ‘Hand to God’ Robert Askins’s black comedy, about a mild Christian boy whose hand puppet may (or may not) be possessed by the Devil, is as outlandishly funny as it is seriously spooky. Steven Boyer gives a bravura performance as the troubled teenager with the evil imp on his arm, and Geneva Carr is moving as his addled, newly widowed mother. The play, previously seen in two Off Broadway runs, has grown even sharper, and more disturbing, in its move uptown to Broadway (2:00). Booth Theater, 222 West 45th Street, 212-239-6200, handtogodbroadway.com. (Isherwood)

‘Old Times’ Douglas Hodge’s flashy revival of Harold Pinter’s drama of memory and power games within a shifting triangle may irritate Pinter purists, with its cosmic staging. (It can feel like “Old Times: Armaggedon.”) But its skillful, charismatic cast — Eve Best, Kelly Reilly and Clive Owen — entertainingly makes it clear as to who’s on top at any given moment (1:05). American Airlines Theater, 227 West 42nd Street, 212-719-1300, roundabouttheatre.org. (Brantley)

‘Something Rotten!’ This rambunctious show, which weds the Elizabethan theater and the brassy Broadway musical, dances dangerously on the line between tireless and tedious. But the large cast, which includes Brian D’Arcy James and Christian Borle, remains as wired as Adderall-popping sophomores during exam week. Casey Nicholaw directed this exhausting frolic from Wayne and Karey Kirkpatrick, and John O’Farrell (2:20). St. James Theater, 246 West 44th Street, 212-239-6200, rottenbroadway.com. (Brantley)

★ ‘Spring Awakening’ One of the great Broadway musicals of the past decade is born anew with this inventive revival from the Deaf West Theater company, directed with remarkable finesse by Michael Arden. A vibrant cast of both deaf and hearing actors share the roles in this inspiriting production of the show about adolescent angst in 19th-century Germany, with a fluid book by Steven Sater and a gorgeous score by Duncan Sheik (2:20). Brooks Atkinson Theater, 256 West 47th Street, 877-250-2929, springawakeningthemusical.com. (Isherwood)

Off Broadway

‘The Alcoholic Movie Musical!’ The multitalented Cynthia Hopkins can do it all — except, it seems, write a screenplay about her life as an alcoholic. Thank goodness for that failure, which provides the occasion for this endearing two-person (with Jeff Sugg) production (1:15). The Bushwick Starr, 207 Starr Street, Bushwick, Brooklyn, 866-811-4111, thebushwickstarr.org. (Claudia La Rocco)

‘Barbecue’ Robert O’Hara’s oddly bifurcated comedy depicts two fractious interventions disguised as family picnics (one family is black, the other white, although the characters’ names are all the same) in the first act. Following a nifty surprise, however, the comedy recedes and what replaces it is less satisfying (1:45). Public Theater, 425 Lafayette Street at Astor Place, East Village, 212-967-7555, publictheater.org. (Isherwood)

★ ‘Catch the Butcher’ Adam Seidel’s quirky, unsettling and rewarding play concerns a woman (Lauren Luna Vélez) who enchants a serial killer (Jonathan Walker) who has kidnapped her. (She’s fond of his poetry, which he leaves with the bodies of his victims.) This uncommon blend of romance, absurdism, satire and dread is a tricky balancing act, but the company admirably pulls it off (1:30). Cherry Lane Theater, 38 Commerce Street, West Village, 866-811-4111, cherrylanetheatre.org. (Andy Webster)

★ ‘The Christians’ Lucas Hnath’s thoughtful, quietly mesmerizing play depicts the schism that divides a megachurch when its pastor (the terrific Andrew Garman) has a revelation that hell, as it is commonly depicted in Christianity, doesn’t exist. A superbly acted production from the director Les Waters enhances the play’s power (1:30). Playwrights Horizons, 416 West 42nd Street, 212-279-4200, playwrightshorizons.org. (Isherwood)

‘Clever Little Lies’ Marlo Thomas plays the mother of a straying young husband in Joe DiPietro’s comfort-food comedy-drama, which feels like a throwback to Neil Simon’s early work from the 1960s (1:30). Westside Theater Upstairs, 407 West 43rd Street, cleverlittlelies.com, 212-239-6200. (Isherwood)

★ ‘Cloud Nine’ Caryl Churchill’s time, gender and genre bending play from 1979 feels gloriously fresh in its return to the New York stage. Directed by James Macdonald, and featuring a delightfully polymorphous cast of seven, this portrait of an archetypal, era-straddling British family reminds us that sex, in all sense of the word, is something nobody ever sorts out entirely (2:35). Linda Gross Theater, 336 West 20th Street, Chelsea, 866-811-4111, atlantictheater.org. (Brantley)

★ ‘Colin Quinn: The New York Story’ Mr. Quinn’s joke-dense monologue is a lovely nostalgic lament for a New York gone by (1:15). Cherry Lane Theater, 28 Commerce Street, West Village, 866-811-4111, colinquinnthenewyorkstory.com. (Jason Zinoman)

‘Cut Throat’ This comedy by JB Reich features game performances but works territory that is too familiar to be very funny: competitive preschool admissions on the Upper West Side. A young husband and wife encounter all sorts of roadblocks while trying to get their 3-year-old into a well-regarded school. Guess what? Snootiness and absurdity pervade the admissions process (1:35). Dorothy Strelsin Theater at the Abingdon Theater Arts Complex, 312 West 36th Street, 866-811-4111, abingdontheatre.org. (Neil Genzlinger)

‘Daddy Long Legs’ This sweet, beautifully sung and only occasionally unsettling musical adaptation of Jean Webster’s 1912 novel is predicated on the lengthy correspondence between a pert orphan and her anonymous benefactor. Even if the relationship between Megan McGinnis’s adorable Jerusha and Paul Alexander Nolan’s debonair Jervis reads as at least a little creepy, their voices twine charmingly (2:15). Davenport Theater, 354 West 45th Street, 212-239-6200, daddylonglegsmusical.com. (Soloski)

★ ‘The Flick’ Annie Baker’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play about the beauty and sadness in the lives of three workers in a run-down movie theater has been remounted under the deeply focused direction of Sam Gold. Moving, funny, unforgettable, but definitely a polarizing night at the theater, thanks to Ms. Baker’s quietly observational pacing (3:10). Barrow Street Theater, 27 Barrow Street, at Seventh Avenue South, West Village, 212-868-4444, barrowstreettheatre.com. (Isherwood)

‘Hamlet in Bed’ Michael Laurence wrote and stars in this two-hander about a former actor obsessed with a) playing Hamlet, and b) finding the woman who gave him up for adoption. An intriguing if overlong psychodrama, but Annette O’Toole and Mr. Laurence bring some heat to their performances (1:30). Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, 224 Waverly Place, at 11th Street, Greenwich Village, 866-811-4111, rattlestick.org. (Isherwood)

★ ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ A cast of five recreates Shakespeare’s comedy of crazy mixed-up love to riotous effect in this wildly inventive production, directed by Eric Tucker. As the performers divide and multiply like stage-struck amoebas, this tale of love lost and found in an enchanted forest becomes a gleeful paean to the joys of losing and finding yourself through acting (2:25). Pearl Theater, 555 West 42nd Street, 212-563-9261, pearltheatre.org. (Brantley)

‘My Son the Waiter: A Jewish Tragedy’ Brad Zimmerman’s solo show about almost three decades of working in restaurants while not becoming a famous actor, and his Jewish mother’s shame, is low-key, half-familiar, half-mordant and pretty delicious (1:30). Stage 72, 158 West 72nd Street, 212-868-4444, mysonthewaiter.com. (Gates)

An error has occurred. Please try again later.

You are already subscribed to this email.

‘The New Morality’ The Mint Theater Company revives Harold Chapin’s comedy of marital ethics, anchored on a Thames houseboat. Appealingly directed and adeptly acted (Brenda Meaney and Ned Noyes are standouts), the play includes arguments that are meant to surprise, but the content and structure are ultimately too tidy to make it more than a pleasure cruise (1:50). Mint Theater, 311 West 43rd Street, 866-811-4111, minttheater.org. (Soloski)

★ ‘Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally’ Told from the perspective of a cellphone, Kevin Armento’s clever, funny-sad new play traces an affair between a high school student and his algebra teacher. Presented by One Year Lease Theater Company in a fast-paced, highly physical production by Ianthe Demos, it is an elegantly constructed examination of contemporary isolation and the illusory nature of electronic connection (1:20). 59E59 Theaters, 59 East 59th Street, Manhattan; 212-279-4200, 59e59.org. (Collins-Hughes)

’Ruthless!’ This spiked Shirley Temple of a show, which first opened in 1992 and now returns with less fizz, follows the adventures of Tina Denmark (Tori Murray), a stage-struck prepubescent with occasional homicidal tendencies. But what must have once seemed wildly satirical could practically pass for documentary (1:35). St. Luke’s Theater, 308 West 46th Street, Clinton, 212-239-6200, ruthlessthemusical.com. (Soloski)

‘Sisters’ Follies: Between Two Worlds’ The wizard puppeteer Basil Twist is summoning the ghosts that haunt the Abrons Arts Center in this wildly mixed commemorative revue, which stars Joey Arias and Julie Atlas Muz as long-dead diva philanthropists. The visions conjured by Mr. Twist are often divine, even when they’re infernal. It’s the human factor that tends to drag the show down to earth (1:30). Abrons Arts Center, 466 Grand Street, at Pitt Street, Lower East Side, 866-811-4111, abronsartscenter.org. (Brantley)

★ ‘39 Steps’ This century’s most tireless and high-profile example of the little show that could, adapted from Alfred Hitchcock’s 1935 movie and seen on Broadway in 2008, returns for yet another antic struggle with bad guys with bad accents. Directed by Maria Aitken, with a cast of four playing too many roles to count, this paradigm of bare-bones theater remains indomitably funny (1:40). Union Square Theater, 100 East 17th Street, 877-250-2929, 39stepsny.com. (Brantley)

‘Up and Away’ Generosity and gentleness of spirit may be the two most striking features of this joyous new show created by Lincoln Center Education and Trusty Sidekick Theater Company for children on the autism spectrum. Directed by Jonathan Shmidt Chapman, it’s a journey into the sky very loosely inspired by Jules Verne’s “Around the World in 80 Days.” It’s also an intimate experience: only eight children per performance (1:00). Clark Studio Theater, Rose Building, 7th Floor, Lincoln Center, upandaway.nyc. (Laura Collins-Hughes)

★ ‘Who’s Your Baghdaddy? Or How I Started the Iraq War’ A cunning, rock-solid musical comedy (with the just the right amount of absurdism) that explains the war better than anything else has so far (2:00). Actors Temple Theater, 339 West 47th Street, whoisyourbaghdaddy.com, 212-239-6200. (Anita Gates)

‘Would You Still Love Me If ... ’ In John S. Anastasi’s ungainly new play, directed by Kathleen Turner, a young lawyer named Danya (Sofia Jean Gomez) wants to align her body with her gender identity but fears her partner (Rebecca Brooksher) wouldn’t love her if she were a man. It’s a topical setup, yet this diligently educational drama has the feel of a bad television movie, even with Ms. Turner’s very smart performance as Danya’s formidable mother (1:30). New World Stages, 340 West 50th Street, 212-239-6200, newworldstages.com. (Collins-Hughes)

Off Off Broadway

★ ‘Fondly, Collette Richland’ One of the most entertaining dreams you’ll ever have. Though this delirious production from the Elevator Repair Service (“Gatz”) is supposedly a play, it’s closer to what happens when you’re in bed alone with your unconscious. The director John Collins uses every theatrical trick available to make Sibyl Kempson’s tale of shifting identity come to mutating life (2:40). New York Theater Workshop, 79 East Fourth Street, East Village, 212-460-5475, nytw.org. (Brantley)

‘Our Last Game’ Ed Schmidt delivers three locker room speeches to his basketball team in a show that hustles but lacks star power (1:20). Nord Anglia International School, 44 East Second Street, East Village, ourlastgame.com. (Zinoman)

‘Ziegfeld’s Midnight Frolic’ The death by poison of Olive Thomas, the “Ziegfeld Follies” beauty, is at the center of this diffuse, immersive show created by Cynthia von Buhler (“The Bloody Beginning”). The cast is talented, the costumes are glittery, and aerialists dangle from above, but the performance feels less like a theater piece than like an imitation 1920s cabaret show with a thematically related art installation taking place around it (2:45). (Saturdays only.) Liberty Theater, behind the Liberty Diner, 234 West 42nd Street, 866-811-4111, speakeasydollhouse.com. (Collins-Hughes) Long-Running Shows

‘Aladdin’ The Disney movie refashioned for the stage, with shtick, sparkles and silliness cutting the syrup (2:20). New Amsterdam Theater, 214 West 42nd Street, 866-870-2717, aladdinthemusical.com.

‘The Phantom of the Opera’ Who was that masked man anyway (2:30)? Majestic Theater, 247 West 44th Street, 212-239-6200, telecharge.com.

‘Queen of the Night’ An ultra-lavish immersive theater piece with cocktails, a meal and a circus-style show (2:45). Diamond Horseshoe at the Paramount Hotel, 235 West 46th Street, 866-811-4111, queenofthenightnyc.com.

‘Sex Tips for Straight Women From a Gay Man’ Part bachelorette party at Chippendales, part embarrassing midnight show in Pigalle (1:20). Fridays and Saturdays at 777 Theater, 777 Eighth Avenue, at 47th Street, 888-841-4111, sextipsplay.com.

★ ‘The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey’ (closes on Sunday) In James Lecesne’s enchanting solo show, the friends of a happily flamboyant 14-year-old New Jersey boy turn to the police after he disappears. With great heart and humor, Mr. Lecesne portrays more than a dozen characters in this sweet, sad, Dickensian show that returns to the stage after a run at Dixon Place earlier this year. Westside Theater, 407 West 43rd Street, absolutebrightness.com, 212-239-6200. (Isherwood)

‘The Awful Truth’ (closes on Sunday) The acting isn’t great in this Metropolitan Playhouse revival of a 1922 comedy by Arthur Richman, but the piece does provide some refreshing historical perspective for anyone who thinks “liberated women” began appearing only in the 1960s. It centers on the quick-witted, manipulative Lucy (Alexandra O’Daly), whose fiancé is concerned about rumors that her infidelity led to her divorce four years earlier. The play was written at the beginning of the flapper era and catches a moment in time when women were pushing boundaries while some men were still stuck in the Victorian era (1:50). Metropolitan Playhouse, 220 East Fourth Street, East Village,metropolitanplayhouse.org, 212-995-5302. (Genzlinger)

‘Believers’ (closes on Saturday) The playwright Ken Jaworowski, a staff editor at The New York Times, provides a time-lapse portrait of a couple — played by two sets of actors in interlaced segments two decades apart — who start out starry-eyed, only to be beset by inconceivable tragedy. Ethical questions emerge in sharp relief as their faith is put to the harshest of tests. (1:30). WorkShop Theater, 312 West 36th Street, 866-811-4111, workshoptheater.org. (Sandy MacDonald)

‘Fulfillment’ (closes on Monday) The shocking thing about this latest offering from the incendiary playwright Thomas Bradshaw is that it’s not shocking at all, at least not by his usual standards. Directed by Ethan McSweeny, this lucid, relatively mild-mannered tale of the woes of a corporate lawyer (Gnbenga Akinnagbe) allows us to consider calmly Mr. Bradshaw’s distinctive, disturbing view of amoral humanity (1:30). Flea Theater, 41 White Street, TriBeCa, 866-811-4111, theflea.org. (Brantley)

‘The Gray Man’ (closes on Sunday) This spooky show about a child-abducting fiend is sometimes performed in complete darkness, and is admirable for the many chances it takes even when the grim mood threatens to become overwhelming. (1:30) WalkerSpace, 26 Walker Street, TriBeCa, pipelinetheatre.org. (Ken Jaworowski)

★ ‘Reread Another’ (closes on Saturday) Gertrude Stein has rarely been anyone’s idea of light entertainment. But as directed by David Herskovits, this short by her from 1921, seldom seen outside of academia, has an exhilarating air of discovery. This Target Margin production, which opened in January at the Bushwick Starr, finds the fun — and the sense — in Stein’s seeming nonsense, as pedestrian words seem to sprout wings and fly (:50). The Brick, 579 Metropolitan Avenue, at Lorimer Street, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, 866-811-4111, bricktheater.com. (Brantley)

A version of this schedule appears in print on October 16, 2015, on Page C17 of the New York edition with the headline: The Listings: Theater. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe